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Falke model 70: Part 1

Falke model 70 is a quality breakbarrel spring-piston rifle from the 1950s.

This report is a traditional Friday blog for all you who enjoy the vintage airguns I sometimes get to test. I enjoy them, too, but I try not to put too many into the blog because most readers cannot buy these guns. I don’t want to create a lot of dissatisfaction.

I’ve reported on the Falke 90 underlever that reader Vince was kind enough to repair and tune in his 3-part report, It’s not my Falke. Then, I tested the gun for you in a separate 4-part report titled, Falke 90 test. Well, today I’m starting another report on a Falke model 70 breakbarrel rifle.

The distinctive falcon logo is stamped on the spring tube end cap.

All Falke airguns are uncommon in the U.S., but the models 80 and 90 are beyond rare. From the model 70 on down in declining numbers (60, 50, 40, 30, 20 and 10), however, we encounter a number of more common breakbarrel spring rifles that, while not common, are also not rare. They were never officially imported into the U.S., as far as I have determined, but have entered in a number of ways through private transactions. They’re very similar in quality and performance to their Diana cousins of the same early 1950s timeframe. The separation between the model 70 we’re looking at today and the model 80, while only 10 numbers apart, is the difference between a chicken egg and an egg by Fabergé.

The model 70 might also be thought of as Falke’s answer to the Diana 27. In other words, a plain airgun, but also one with high-quality features like a locking breech and an adjustable trigger. The 70 is slightly larger than the 27. It’s 42-7/8 inches long overall, and that length is helped primarily by the 19-inch barrel. The weight is 6 lbs., 10 oz. The pull is 13-3/4 inches, making it suitable for adults and older children.

When I looked in W.H.B. Smith’s book, Smith’s Standard Encyclopedia of Gas, Air and Spring Guns of the World, I saw slightly different specs for the model 70 listed there. There, the rifle was just 37 inches long, and the photo shows a pistol grip that’s rounded at the bottom. It was also checkered; but because mine’s been refinished, I can’t tell if it may have been originally checkered. I doubt that it was, though, because it’s still robust after refinishing.

The rifle’s barreled action is blued steel, set into a slim beech stock that has European finger grooves on either side of the forearm. The breech seal is leather, giving every indication that the piston seal is leather, as well. The metal on my rifle is turning to a plum-colored patina over the years, and the stock has been recently refinished. It was a good job, but I have no idea how much wood was removed in the process.

The rear sight is adjustable for elevation by turning a centrally mounted wheel, but there is no adjustment for windage. However, both the front and rear sights sit in dovetails that run perpendicular to the bore, so some windage adjustment is possible by drifting them sideways in their slots. The rear sight blade sits loose in the rear sight base, which may affect accuracy when I shoot the gun.

The rear sight adjusts for elevation, only. The sight blade is loose in its mount.

The front sight is a post with a bead at the top — the type the Germans call a Perlkorn. The intent is to put the bead in the center of the rear sight notch and also on whatever you wish to hit. It’s not a precision sight, but it can become more precise if you hold it at the 6 o’clock position on a target. But the movement of the blade that contains the notch will affect things, I’m sure.

The trigger adjusts, too, but I remember getting some sort of warning from airgun collector Don Raitzer at the Roanoke airgun show when I acquired the rifle, so I may not adjust it. Right now, it’s a single stage that has a very long but light pull and no positive indication before it lets off. I’m thinking the adjustment might affect the sear engagement area, and I don’t want to diminish that in any way.

The single-stage trigger adjusts, but I think the sear contact area is affected, so I’m going to pass.

The breech is locked by a spring-loaded lever located on the right side of the breech. To unlock it, press in (push it back toward the butt) on the knurled knob while breaking down the barrel. It takes 2 hands to open the breech. When the barrel’s closed, the lock snaps shut and the breech is solid!

The breech is also notable for having both a pivot bolt and a locking screw that fits into scalloped notches cut into the rim of the bolt head. It’s a hallmark of quality that existed in the 1950s. Oddly, though, the pivot screw only has 2 cutouts for the locking screw to fit; so in its original form, it has to be turned a minimum of 180 degrees every time. Someone has used a small portable grinder to add a small notch where it was necessary, and now the pivot bolt head has a third notch in what seems to be the right place.

The breech is locked and must be unlocked to break the barrel. Note the locking notches in the pivot bolt head. And you can see the articulated 2-piece cocking link in this picture, also.

The cocking link is 2-piece and articulated to allow the rifle to be cocked without a long cocking slot in the forearm. That reduces vibration in the stock, adding to the rifle’s overall feeling of quality when fired.

This is a quality air rifle from the 1950s, and the quality shows through. Compared to modern air rifles, the features on this one far exceed what you normally see. The power is much lower than most of today’s rifles, but that just ensures that the rifle fires smoother.

Of course, there’s no provision for a scope, because when this rifle was made, people weren’t scoping their air rifles. I wouldn’t want to scope it, either. This is just a pure fun rifle that’s light and smooth and fun for the whole day. Why ruin it with a scope?

Smith lists the velocity at 450 f.p.s, but of course that was with the crude heavy pellets of the 1950s. I’m sure a modern pellet will step that up, though; by how much, I can’t say. Someone has at least lube-tuned the rifle recently, so it should be performing its best right now. I note when cocking that the cocking stroke is very short — just past 90 degrees, and the mainspring tension builds very fast in the last half of the stroke. In that respect, this rifle differs entirely from a Diana 27 that cocks with an even stroke and no spring buildup (greater effort required toward the end of the cocking stroke).

I’ve been waiting to test this rifle since the Roanoke show. Until today, I had not fired it once! You and I will get get to explore this fine air rifle together!

Surprise, surprise!While reading the other reports on the Falke 90 I cite above, I discovered that I’d promised to test the 90 with a dot sight to see if accuracy would improve. That was way back in January and, of course, I haven’t done it — yet! Look for that test in the near future!

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66 thoughts on “Falke model 70: Part 1”

Ok the pivot bolt head has the two factory notches cut in it. And it has the screw driver slot in it so it can be turned easy I guess. And you said somebody ground the third cut out in the right spot.

Was that done to pull the barrel in to the breech or for another reason? Oh and it seems that the older guns had a better way of locking the barrels. Well maybe not a better way but maybe a more durable way.

And I like the way the rear sight works. Its kind of like the dovetail locking mechanism on some of our dial indicator’s at work. Maybe would be a little touchy using it this way for a sight but I’m sure a person could get use to it pretty easily.

And I like when they put the finger grooves in the stocks. And is it a rifled barrel?

And What I always wonder about with the vintage guns and well you know me also cars, trucks tractors and other things. Not what they are worth now but what they sold for new. I always find that fascinating.

The locking screw on the pivot bolt is to prevent the bolt from vibrating loose. You tighten the bolt to where the barrel does not wriggle from side to side when you close the breech or flop down when you release the lock to open the breech and cock the rifle. Someone, instead of adding shimming washers, added an extra locking notch.

I would not scope this rifle either, but if this Falke had a scope rail on it, a peep sight could easily be mounted which would improve the aiming precision and negate any effect of the wobbly factory rear sight.

Additionally some of us have horrible eyesight, and an iron sights only gun is just useless because the target cannot be seen beyond a certain point. Better to have a scope rail and not use it than to need a scope rail and not have it.

But these rifles aren’t made anymore, so I understand that it is what it is. I am looking forward for the rest of this report.

I adjusted the sight up and could see no leaf spring and was just about to tell you, no, there isn’t any spring, when the whole deal came off the gun. The screw wheel has a hollow threaded shaft that houses a tiny coiled spring that I have not yet managed to lose.

They sure did some nice metal finishing back then! I get so used to seeing the gouges and tool marks left in today’s guns that when I see someone has taken the time to polish something up, it really takes me back! Just the attention to detail in general. Not cnc perfect, but showing that someone cared enough to smooth out some rough corners, etc.

BB, I love it! This last year at Malvern I saw an even smaller rifle that had a breech lock and looked to be good quality. I wish I had bought it. I can’t remember who manufactured it. It was a little smaller than a Diana 24, kind of like a slimmer Diana 24.

I am wondering if someone resprung your 70. It sounds like it has a short JM spring in it.

B.B.
How would you compare it to a ZV 4.. I think the ZV4 was made by CZ… I had one for a while and it was so solid and smooth… I really loved it! It had some of the same features like your Falke 70… It was built like a tank, and grouped real well out to 25 yards, which is all the distance I’d want to shoot it at.

I liked the ZV4 even more than my Diana 27, which I still have… I can’t let that sweet shooter go after the great tune and custom sight Vince made for it.. It’s my “Quigley” game rifle, and it does pretty well at those 50 yard looping shots… Great job Vince!

Off topic.
I was looking over the ammo page and found this
on the .177 cal. round ball page.
The 4.45mm is listed as 8.2 gr.
but the 4.54 is listed as 7.7 gr.
So now I’m confused again
Is this a typo or my dyslexia or am I missing something here?http://www.pyramydair.com/a/Ammo/109/pt_6/calibers_0_177

If you are thinking round ball, you do not want the 4.45mm. I was surprised by the quality and not pleasantly. Most of them have a large dimple. I guess I am spoiled by the quality I have always had with H&N.

Also, I didn’t notice the diameter when I ordered it and was going after heavy. If I had I would have ordered the larger ones.

Thanks for that tip!
I was really just comparison shopping.
I’ve gotten interested in AirSoft and have been looking at the differences
in cost vs. accuracy of pellet guns,BB guns and AS.
I know that the main draws of AS are skirmishing (which I have no interest in)
and Firearms replicas but I love to plink!
I haven’t spent as much time as some have looking into this but it seems that
pellet guns are always more accurate at an equal price point or power level.
I’ve gotten used to being able to hit soda bottle caps at ~25 yds.with the daisy953
or milk jug caps~30 yds.with the H490 I got from Vince using cheap wally world Daisy ammo.
I haven’t read about any AS guns that can match that without a lot of tuning and after market expense.
I’m pretty disappointed so far because for my use I haven’t found any advantages for AS
over BB guns.And so far except for ammo cost pellet shooters win all other categories that matter
to me.

I just ordered the H&K P30 Electric airsoft pistol for 30 bucks and the Umarex universal tactical laser for like 18 bucks.
And also some Air Venturi Pro .12 gram BB’s for 3 bucks and you get 2700 rounds.

I plan on setting me up a little rapid shoot range in my basement. I think it will help when I go out to my brothers to shoot his 9mm. We set up a shooting range for the 9mm also when I’m out there.

I know the airsoft pistol or bb or pellet pistol wont produce the same result as the 9mm. But they are a heck of a lot cheaper to shoot than the 9mm. And I think the airsoft range will be a little easier to make a safe back stop for then a pellet or even BB gun.

I know, I know airsoft ain’t for everybody. But from what I see its cheaper to shoot them than the real gun that they are a copy of. And heck some of the airsoft guns you can get cant be had in the real gun. So it gives you a chance to experience that gun on a different level.

Most pellet guns are rifled. Also, as you are finding out, the thickness of your wallet does not necessarily insure accuracy. There are some pretty expensive air guns out there that do not stand a chance of hitting much of anything, even the broad side of a barn. That is another good thing about hanging out here, someone else tries them out for you before you lay down the bucks.

Yes, good quality pellets are “expensive”, but when you work deals like PA offers, the price is usually trimmed down to about 3 cents apiece for top shelf stuff. From my personal point of view, that is not too bad to achieve the results I desire.

AS is not about to give me what I want, I don’t care how much you spend on a rig. BBs are a little better, but for me CO2 just does not work and I know of only one BB gun still on the market that interests me in the least. If I could find one of those old German BB rifles, I would snatch it up in a second.

GF1 and others see the opportunity to practice at home with them, saving money and having a good time at it. Nothing wrong with that. It’s that old “different strokes” thing.

Me, I have always been the one shot kinda dude. The longer the shot, the better. When I watched the video of that guy hitting that Pepsi at 614 yards with his air rifle, I started trying to figure out how I could get one of those rigs.

“Me, I have always been the one shot kinda dude. The longer the shot, the better. When I watched the video of that guy hitting that Pepsi at 614 yards with his air rifle, I started trying to figure out how I could get one of those rigs”

The Weaver rail under the barrel in front of the trigger is not quite true to scale. I had to file some of the plastic on the gun to get the laser mounted. It didn’t want to slide on. And yes I hate when that kind of stuff happens. I want it to work right. Not have to do something I shouldn’t be doing to make it work.

After I got it mounted I had the pistol sighted in after about 5 shots. Was in the garage shooting about 10 yards from the target. Which was a piece of note book paper suspended from a piece of string attached to a rafter from the ceiling. I drew a 2 inch circle on the paper and was able to keep my shots in the circle at 10 yards.

Next step is to get the course set up in the basement. Its going to be on the same idea as the garage. Hanging note book paper from string at different heights and distances. Will see how that works out next.

Yep good o Wang Po. I ain’t going to gripe to much though it was cheap.

I’m glad its shooting as good as it is. And the youngest daughter was having a blast with it. But its right on the edge of being to weak for me. Its just under 200 fps with .12 gram bb’s.

I think from what I’m seeing so far the pistol needs to be up in the 300′s to shoot the targets a little cleaner. 10 yards was pushing it with the pistol I got also. Probably 5 to 7 yards is right for it. Not because of accuracy but because some of the bb’s weren’t making it through the paper. They would glance off if I hit at a angle. And I would like to be back at least 10 yards or more when I practice.

And RR your right. I got a blanket draped up across the spot I’m shooting at with the bottom rolled up to catch them. And yep I got a shop vac and already used it.
I would of never thought that a shop vac was going to be one of my shooting tools.

BB,
That is a novel approach to the grub screw — only two notches! Based on my limited experience, however, it doesn’t seem to matter how many there are — there is never one that is exactly correct :)! I think filing another cutout just where it is needed is a pretty good way to tighten it up, taking the OEM 2 notches as “serving suggestions”…

You are getting quite a bunch of these low-budget vintage classics. While I do enjoy reading about the fancier and more ornate ones, these little ones are the only ones I have to fight envy on. While the “magnums” and “high performance” models of old are patently obsolete in their field of application, the plinkers are timeless.

PS. I am celebrating my 6th year of reading your blog today(nominally, my first comment was on 20 Dec. 2007 although I had started reading a little before) . One of my Christmas wishes is that you can continue to enjoy and produce the blog for many more years. I appreciate the unbelievably hard work and dedication you and Edith put into it, and you are both truly special people to me, not to mention “millions” (I am guessing) of other readers.

Wow, you have been reading the blog for the past 6 years. What a long time. May you continue to read and enjoy it for a long time to come!

Like you, I enjoy these old classic airguns a lot. I think they are my favorite ones and then I shoot a screamer group with a new gun and that’s my favorite. Oh, well, love the one you’re with, I guess.

I know this is entirely unrelated to today’s topic, but interesting (to me anyway), nonetheless. I refinished the stock on my Red Ryder and mounted a .080 diameter peep sight on it. I shot some groups from a pillow rest using a very light hold. In two 10-shot groups I got an average of exactly 3″ at 10 meters. The groups were quite round and even, with no clustering or sub-groups. Just out of curiosity I decided to shoot some groups holding the rifle very tightly. The next two groups measured 1.875″ and 1.81″. Each group had about 8 shots within an inch and a couple flyers. This was with Crosman BB’s, and I know my Red Ryder prefers the zinc coated daisy BB’s, so I expect I may see even better results with the Daisys. I thought it was interesting that the artillery hold was by far NOT the correct hold for the Red Ryder.

Hope this may help for those that are giving a Red Ryder to their kid for Christmas or just for those who still like to plink with theirs. I was pretty surprised at the results.

That is just one of the things about air guns. Lots of things to figure out on each gun you shoot.

Just because two guns are spring guns doesn’t always mean they need to be held the same. And the same for pcp or pump guns and Co2 guns also.

And talking about Christmas. We just got through with all of that. Crowded every where tonight.
Glad we got that done. Although I wish there was a PA store front by me. I could spend all day long there. I would have my wife drop me off and she could come back later and pick me up.

Ted Nugent once said, “Without question, the Red Ryder BB gun is the most important gun in the history of American weaponry.” I am inclined to agree. What single gun has been the desire of so many young shooters? How many thousands or millions of Americans have began and honed their shooting skills with this very gun? It is THE PERFECT GUN for shooting cans at 10 yards, or for making Black Bart push up daisies. Airgun snobs can rejoice that the current model is almost completely wood and metal. It is the perfect Christmas gift for boys AND girls, regardless of age. “A Christmas Story” is one of my all time favorite movies.

I would like to know how you attached a peep sight to a Red Ryder. 35 years ago I put an L shaped peep sight on a Daisy 102. I used the tang screw to attach it. It is non adjustable, but I got lucky and it works (for short distances).Last year I got a Slavia 612 with a broken rear sight. I used plastic steel to attach a Williams open sight and a front ramp. This method would work on my Red Ryder, but I do not want to alter the gun. Removal of this sight might remove the original finish. I would also like to know what peep sight you used. Thanks for the information, Ed

The peep sight was REALLY easy. I just used an old williams WGRS-54 rimfire/airgun universal 3/8″ dovetail rear sight I had laying around. I just drilled out the hole that held the grub screw that secures the sight base from sliding fore or aft to accommodate the diameter of the oem phillips-head stock screw that goes into the stock from the top of the receiver. With a little bit of extra torque on the screw, the sight stays put very well. I also took my trusty dremel and a cutoff wheel and cut off the factory rear sight, and then polished the remaining metal edge down to keep it from snagging on anything or cutting my hand.

I guess everyone knows you can remove the butt stock and use a pair of needle nose or hemostats to remove the rear spring from the trigger group and it dramatically lightens the trigger, while also removing unnecessary travel. It does not affect the safety of the gun either, as the rearward spring doesn’t affect sear engagement.

Resist the urge to remove the whole trigger group. It is a pain to get back in, and there is not a lot to help the trigger that can be done. Hope anyone interested sees this and had a good Christmas/Holiday.

old guns are great. that falke is a prime example. its like going into j.m.davis gun museum in claramore okla. I noticed they added a few more pellet guns the last time I was in. it was in july this year.

This little guy will some times sit in my crabapple and wait for me to kill something….usually a starling. But the starlings are not dumb enough to get that close to him. Most times he finds some place at a distance to watch and wait. One day he was on one no more than three seconds after I dropped it. No idea where he came from. There were a lot of other dead starlings all over in the snow, but I guess he wanted a fresh one. Some times eats them right there, and other times just grabs and goes. Eat in, or use the drive thru .

TT
I was just coming outside to shoot one day. And there was a squirrel with a nut in his mouth over buy a tree. The gray hawk came straight down wings folded and about 3 foot off the ground he opened his wings and talons first got him around his neck and back. The squirrel never even made another move.

Then we had a big red hawk getting the starlings after I would shoot them. And come to think about it there’s a couple cats that come from some where and get the starlings to. But I haven’t seen the red hawk or cats lately. But the gray hawk does pop up from time to time. All I can say is cool birds.

This little guy is not very big. Maybe just a bit bigger than a pigeon . Not much of a threat to anything other than small kittens and bunnies….and anything smaller. Might like doves pretty good.

See a little sparrow hawk once in a while in the neighborhood. A couple times a big red bugger showed up in a tall tree out back. That one was unwelcome…just to big to have around. Looked as big as a turkey buzzard. I walked out towards the tree and he left both times . Not seen him again.

Big bore air rifles have twists that vary with the caliber. Larger caliber equals slower twist.

The airgun you are thinking of is the Diana model 30 bolt-action gallery gun. It is very robust and has two shot counters -one for the gallery operator to sell by and the other as a long-term counter for maintenance.